Razor sharpener



April 5, 1938. NK 2,113,299

RAZOR SHARPENER Filed April 19, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l I :lnmml INVENTORY A [01v f). F1 ny/rn? ATTORNEYS.

April 5, 1938.

1.. A. FLINKER 2,113,299

RAZOR SHARFENER Filed April 19, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v INVENTOR.

L LIFO/V F4 um'z/P.

U /PMW n/i d ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICE RAZOR SHARPENER Leon A. Flinker, Detroit, Mich, assignor of onefourth to John A. Geismar, Toledo, Ohio Application April 19, 1934, Serial No. 721,379

19 Claims.

This invention relates to a razor sharpener, and more particularly to a self-sharpening safety razor.

The present invention has to do with certain improvements on a safety razor and sharpening device disclosed in my Patent No. 1,984,338 issued December 11, 1934. One of the improvement features has to do with the sharpening block or sharpening surface, in that I have provided a stone over which the blade is reciprocated at a fixed angle, such reciprocation over the stone surface being the sole sharpening action.

Other features include a novel form of supporting and positioning structure, including a single means for locking the blade in shaving position and for releasing the blade to allow the same to automatically assume sharpening position; this includes the combination between the supporting and positioning structure and pivotal mounting of the blade holder whereby mere pivoting of the blade holderrelative to said supporting and positioning structure will release the blade holder from shaving position or will allow the same to automatically assume shaving position from sharpening position.

Still other features include guiding means, adjustable for wear, removable, reciprocable guard structure, adjustability of the razor edge relative to the guard to adapt the razor to difierent types of beards, and other features of design and construction, and particularly including the mounting of the blade holder upon the blade support, as will be more clearly brought out in the specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the preferred form of my self-sharpening razor and showing the same in normal shaving position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the first step in bringing the blade to sharpening position.

Figs. 3 and 4 represent successive steps in the automatic return of the blade to initial sharpening position.

Fig, 5 illustrates the manner of sharpening the blade white in sharpening position.

Fig. 6 illustrates the automatic return of the blade to shaving position by continued forward movement of the sharpening stroke.

Fig, '7 illustrates the manner of moving the blade holder to reversing position.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front elevation of the razor in sharpening position.

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the razor as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on line H-ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on line l2-i2 5 of Fig. "I, and showing in dotted lines the manner of removing or reversing the stone sharpening unit.

Fig. 13 is a cross sectional view taken on line l3-l3 of Fig. 2 and illustrating in plan the relative position between the guide, handle and blade support.

Fig. 1% is a sectional View taken on line l l-i l of Fig. 13 and showing the manner of assembling the guide members within the handle preparatory to receiving the blade support.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a duplicate formation of the guide supports.

The efiicacy of any razor, regardless of its type, resides in the ability to have a blade, the edge of which is in the best possible condition for shaving. To maintain a proper edge on the old fashioned type of standard razor it has been, and is, necessary to repeatedly and constantly hone and strop the blade. Even the best safety razor blades are not consistent in their degree of sharpness or shaving performance. This remains true, even though various types of honing and stropping devices have been designed and commercially used. An important feature of the self-sharpening razor as embodied in the drawings resides in the fact that the sharpening surface is a stone and that such stone and blade holder are so po-- sitioned and relatively movable as to produce a keen edge without stropping.

The razor stropper, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, consists of a holder handle 2, rigidly supporting a sharpening stone 3 and stone holder &, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 11, said handle being aperturcd to receive guide members 5 and E5 which guide and support a blade support generally designated l. The blade holder support 1 consists of a horizontally extending and reciprocable arm 8 and an upstanding arm 8 to which is pivoted, as at it, a blade holder generally desighated H.

Lug members it struck out from the handle engage the guide member 6 with the result that such lug members i2 may be distorted to take up any wear between the blade support and the guides. This blade support 1 is adapted to be positioned either in the position shown in Fig. l, which is shaving position, or the position shown in Fig. i, which is the normal sharpening position. The blade support normally tends to move to the posiiii tion shown in Fig. 4 because of a spring member l3, the upper end of which projects through the blade support, the greater portion of which spring is contained within the holder handle, and the lower end of which is normally located and positioned within an aperture in the base of the handle, as at M.

The blade holder l l is provided with bifurcated portions l5 which straddle the upright 9 and are pivoted thereto as at H). A hook It on the blade holder is adapted to receive one end of a coil spring I? the other end of the spring being provided with a hook member I8 adapted to project through the blade support and hooked to the lower side thereof as at I 9. Normal function of the spring I? is to move the blade holder H counterclockwise about the pivot II! when viewed as shown in the drawings, but when the blade holder is moved clockwise a considerable distance so that the spring I! passes center at pivot ll), then the function of the spring willbe to hold the blade holder in the wide open position, or that position shown in Fig. 7.

As best shown in Fig. '7, the: blade holder forms a bearing sleeve whereby the blade 20 may be turned from one side to the other about the blade holder as an axis.

fhe holder 4 for the stone 3 is provided with rearwardly extending upwardly offset members 2| positioned at each end of the holder 4. As best shown in Fig. 1, the offset portions of the rearwardly extending members 2| serve as a looking and positioning member for the blade holder by reason of the fact that it receives a flanged portion 22 of the blade holder. As the spring 13 always tends to move the blade support and blade holder rearwardly, and inasmuch as the spring I! tends to move the blade holder counterclockwise, it will be seen that the offset portions of the rearward extensions 2| will serve to positively position the blade in shaving position. This structure is a very important feature of applicants invention because a portion of the stone holder contacts directly with the blade holder and positively positions the same in fixed shaving position; no other locking means of any kind is necessary, thus making for a more compact less expensive razor.

In order to move the blade and holder to sharpening position, it is only necessary for the operator to press down slightly on the lever extension 23 of the blade holder and just sufiicient to raise the flange 22 to clear the offset 25; this is accomplished as shown in Fig. 2. The entire blade support '1 is automatically moved rearwardly by the spring it. Just as soon as the blade holder is raised to the position shown in Fig. 2, the thumb or finger may be released so that the blade holder assumes the position shown in Fig. 3. The spring l3 will continue to move the blade and blade holder rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4, at which time the blade is all ready for sharpening. Now by placing the thumb or finger against the blade support 7, as best shown in Fig. 5, the blade may be reciprocated forwardly and backwardly over the surface of the stone 3. The extreme rearward edges of the portions 26 will now contact with the fiange 22 of the holder when the latter is moved forwardly so that the operator, of necessity, can move the blade only within the confines of the stone and with short sharpening strokes. Thus the razor may be given three or four sharpening strokes on one side, reversed as shown in Fig. 7, and given three or four sharpening strokes on the other side, and

this method repeated several times. The short sharpening stroke over the surface of a stone gives the blade an unusually keen cutting surface with out the use of any strop whatsoever. Thus the member 2! looks the blade holder in shaving position and limits the stroke of the holder when sharpening. The blade, instead of being secured to a base carried by the blade holder l l, as shown in Fig. 7, may be initially fabricated to provide a rearwardly extending tapped portion adapted to directly receive a threaded journal, as best shown in Fig. 1.

A vertically reciprocable guard 24 is carried by the handle 2 and is provided with guard teeth 25, as best shown in Figs. 8 and 10. The width between the guard teeth has considerable to do with the type of shave obtained by the razor; the farther the teeth are apart the closer the shave. To accommodate the razor to the type of shave desired I have provided pins 26 to serve as guides for the guard member 2 2 but which are readily removable to permit the insertion of a new type of guard, particularly a guard with teeth of a different type, whereby it is possible to provide a razor to fit the individual beard. A bell crank member 2'! is pivotally mounted within the handle and is provided with one arm 28 adapted to fit within a slot within the top guide member 5 and also within a slot formed in the blade support member 8. The other arm 29 of the bell crank projects through a wall in the handle and within an aperture formed in the guard plate. When the blade holder and support is moved forwardly from the position shown in Fig. 4 t the position shown in Fig. 1, the bell crank 21 will be rotated in a clockwise direction, as shown in the drawings, to raise the guard plate 24 to shaving position, which is that shown in Fig. 1, and when the blade support is moved rearwardly starting at the position shown in Fig. 3, the bell crank will be moved counterclockwise by the blade support and lower the guard plate to an absolutely safe position as shown in Figs. 4 to 6, so that even if the member 2! were not used to limit the normal sharpening stroke the lowered guard plate would prevent contact between the edge of the blade and the guard.

To raise the blade in shaving position to different heights above the guard teeth 25, I preferably insert U-shaped clips 30 around each end of the guard plate 24, as best shown in Fig. 7. Each leg of the U-shaped clips will preferably have a difierent thickness, or be otherwise fabricated, so that by reversing the U-shaped clips in their position around each end of the guard plate, they will position the blade to different heights above the guard teeth.

The stone 3, in its preferred form, preferably has one surface thereof of fine texture and the other surface of coarse texture. If desired, the side with the coarse texture may be positioned upright and the stone slightly shimmed up so that the blade may be reciprocated back and forth over the coarse surface to grind back the bevel; this operation may be repeated every year or two. The shims may then be removed, the stone turned over and made ready for normal sharpening operation at a slightly greater angle than the grinding back operation, although this preliminary sharpening angle is relatively small with respect to the horizontal. To remove the stone, the bottom of the stone holder is provided with apertures as at 3| through which a small tool or match 32 may be inserted, see Fig. 12.

The guides and 6 are preferably duplicate in construction and of such thickness that they may be slipped through the apertures in the side of the handle, so that they assume the position shown in Fig. 14, the respective flanges 33 holding the guides in position. After this the guides may be separated to receive the member 8 and the pressed out portions l2 slightly distorted to obtain close sliding contact.

Resuming the operation of the self-sharpening razor, the operator lifts the blade holder II by slight pressure on the member 23 just so that the flange of the holder clears the locking member 2|. The spring [3 will move the blade support and blade holder to the position shown in Fig. 4 in which position the operator may reciprocate the blade support and holder back and forth so that the blade is reciprocated over the surface of the stone at a fixed angle. The blade may be reversed from side to side by moving the blade holder to the extreme position, as shown in Fig. '7. To return to shaving position from sharpening position it is only necessary to continue the forward sharpening stroke, as best shown in Fig. 6, wherein the blade holder will be slightly raised to clear the member 2| after which the flange 22 will settle in the locking depression and the guard plate will be moved upwardly to contact with and be positioned adjacent the bottom of the blade.

After cleaning the blade it is desirable that the operator gradually release the blade and blade holder and return the same to the position shown in Fig. 2 so as to clear the member 2| before releasing the lever extension 23.

What I claim is:

1. A razor sharpening device comprising a holder, a sharpening stone with a flat sharpening surface fixedly positioned in said holder, a'

razor blade and support therefor carried by the holder, means forming stationary parts of the razor for guiding said support to reciprocate the blade across the face of the stone at a fixed angle and for holding the blade in shaving position, said'blade being reversible, and means limiting the blade to short strokes across the surface of said stone whereby said stone consists of the sole sharpening means for the blade.

2. A razor sharpening device comprising a holder, a sharpening stone with a flat sharpening surface fixedly positioned in said holder, a razor blade and support therefor carried by the holder, means guiding said support to reciprocate the blade across the face of the stone at a fixed angle, said blade being reversible, and means limiting the blade to short strokes across the surface of said stone whereby said stone consists of the sole sharpening means for the blade.

3. A razor sharpening device comprising a holder, a sharpening stone with a fiat sharpening surface fixedly positioned in said holder, a razor blade and a pivotally mounted support therefor carried by the holder, means guiding said sup-port to reciprocate the blade across the face of the stone at a fixed angle, said support and razor blade being bodily movable relative to the holder and said holder pivot being maintained in a fixed plane relative to said surface, and means for automatically and resiliently moving the blade in one direction of each stroke.

4. A razor sharpening device comprising a holder, a sharpening stone with a fiat sharpening surface fixedly positioned in said holder, a razor blade and support therefor carried by the holder, means guiding said support to reciprocate the blade across the face of the stone at a fixed angle, said blade being reversible, means limiting the blade to short strokes across the surface of said stone whereby said stone consists of the sole sharpening means for the blade, said support and razor blade being bodily movable relative to the holder, and means for automatically and resiliently moving the blade in one direction of each stroke.

5. A self-sharpening razor, comprising a blade holder and a handle, a flat surfaced fixedly positioned sharpening device carried by the razor handle, a blade support bodily movable relative to the handle during sharpening action, and means forming a stationary part of the razor and contacting directly with the blade holder and serving as the sole means for positioning and holding the blade in shaving position.

6. A self-sharpening razor comprising a blade holder, a fiat surfaced fixedly positioned sharpening device carried by the razor handle, a blade support bodily movable relative to the handle during sharpening action, and means contacting directly with the blade holder and serving as the sole means for positioning and holding the blade in shaving position, said blade holder being pivotally mounted on said blade support and said blade holder being released from shaving position by rotation of the blade holder about said pivot.

'7. A self-sharpening razor comprising a blade holder, a fiat surfaced fixedly positioned sharpening device carried by the razor handle, a blade support bodily movable relative to the handle during sharpening action, and means contacting directly with the blade holder and serving as the sole means for positioning and holding the blade in shaving position, said blade holder being pivotally mounted on said blade support and said blade holder being released from shaving position by rotation of the blade holder about said pivot, and resilient means tending to move the blade against the surface of the sharpening device, continued movement of the sharpening stroke tending to automatically move the blade holder into contact with said positioning and holding means.

8. A self-sharpening razor comprising aholder, a sharpening device fixedly and stationarily positioned on said holder, a pivoted razor blade holdor and support therefor, means for guiding said support to reciprocate the blade across the face of the sharpening device and for maintaining said pivot in a fixed plane relative to said face, a guard for the razor blade, and means cooperating with said guard for positioning the blade at different heights above the guard, while in shaving position.

9. A self-sharpening razor, comprising a blade holder, 2; sharpening device carried by the razor handle, ablade holder support bodily movable relative to the handle during sharpening action,

and means stationary relative to the body of the razer and contacting directly with the blade holder and serving as the sole means for positioning holding the blade in shaving position.

self-sharpening razor comprising a blade holder, a sharpening device carried bythe razor handle, a blade holder support bodily movable relative" to the handle during sharpening action, and means contacting directly With the blade holder and serving as the sole means for positioning and holding the blade in shaving position, blade holder being pivotally mounted on said blade support and said blade holder being released from shaving position by rotation of the blade holder about said pivot,

blade holder about said pivot, resilient means tending to move the blade against the surface of the sharpening device, continued movement of the sharpening stroke tending to automatically move the blade holder into contact with said positioning and holding means.

12. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle,-a sharpening device, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle,

- a blade holder pivotally mounted on said blade support, and means resiliently connecting said holder and support whereby to hold the blade against the sharpening device in one position of the holder and to hold the blade away from the sharpening device in another position of the holder.

.13. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally mounted on said blade support, a spring connecting said support and holder upon opposite sides of the pivot, and said pivot spring and portions of the holder and support being so arranged that the movement of the holder in one direction will move the spring past said pivot to hold the holder in open position, and movement of the holder in the other direction moving said spring to the other side of said pivot whereby said spring tends to move the blade toward the sharpening device and to resiliently hold the same against the sharpening device.

14. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally mounted on said blade support, means resiliently connecting said holder and support whereby to hold the blade against the sharpening device in one position of the holder and to hold the blade away from the sharpening device in another position of the holder, and means positioned in the path of movement of a portion of said holder and adapted to automati-' cally receive and position the blade in shaving position upon movement of said holder and blade past the sharpening device.

15. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally mounted on said blade support, a spring connecting said support and holder upon opposite sides of the pivot, said pivot spring portions of the holder and support being so arranged that the movement of the holder in one direction will move the spring past said pivot to hold the holder in open position, and movement of the holder in the other direction moving said spring to the other side of said pivot whereby said spring tends to move the blade toward the sharpening device and to resiliently hold the same against the sharpening device, and means positioned in the path of movement of a portion of said holder'and adapted to automatically receive and position the blade in shaving position upon movement of said holder and blade past the sharpening device.

16. A self-sharpening razor comprising a bandie, a sharpeningdevice, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally-mounted on said blade support, means resiliently connecting said holder and support whereby to hold the blade against the sharpening device in one position of the holder and to hold the blade away from the sharpening device'in another position of the holder, means for normally limiting the stroke of the blade during sharpening, means for resiliently moving the blade towards one side of the sharpening device after the same has been manually moved across the sharpening device, and means positioned in the path of movement of a portion of said holder and adapted to automatically receive and position the blade in sharpening position when said holder is moved beyond said normal'sharpening stroke.

17. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device, a blade support guided by and bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally mounted on said blade support, a spring connecting said support and holder upon opposite sides of the pivot, said pivot spring and portions of the holder and support being so arranged that the movement of the holder in one direction will move the spring past said pivot to hold the holder in open position, and movement of the holder in the other direction moving said spring to theother side of said pivot whereby said spring tends to move the blade toward the sharpening device and to resiliently hold the same against the sharpeningdevice, means for normal- 1y limiting the stroke of the blade during sharpening, means for resiliently moving the blade towards one side of the sharpening device after the same has been manually moved across the sharpening device, and means positioned in the path of movement of a portion of said holder and adapted to automatically receive and position the blade in sharpening position when said holder is moved beyond said normal sharpening stroke.

18. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening devicemounted on said handle, a blade holder, a blade support guided by said handle to reciprocate the blade across the sharpening device at a fixed angle, and a guard plate mounted on one edge of said sharpening device and cooperating with the blade when the blade is in shaving position, said guard plate being removably carried by said handle whereby to permit the substitution of guard plates to fit the particular heard of the user. 7

19. A self-sharpening razor comprising a handle, a sharpening device mounted at the top of said handle. a blade support bodily movable relative to the handle, a blade holder pivotally mounted on said support, a spring connected to said holder and supporton opposite sides of said pivot, and means positioned adjacent the sharpening'device for receiving a portion of said holder to position the blade in sharpening position, said spring tending to hold said holder portion in said receiving means until the holder is manually rotated about said pivot.

LEON A. FLINKER. 

